Ballet Kelowna is returning to Revelstoke for its first show here under new artistic director Simone Orlando.
Ballet Kelowna will present its new show, Forward: A Mixed Repertory Programme. The show will include dances by leading Canadian choreographers James Kudelka, Shawn Hounsell and Orlando.
The program will also introduce Lee Dances — a presentation of excerpts from award-winning works created for the Clifford E. Lee Choreography Award.
“Forward: A Mixed Repertory Programme concludes an extraordinary season for Ballet Kelowna. This performance is a true celebration of the artistic talents of both our country and our company,” said Orlando. “The artistry and physicality of Ballet Kelowna’s masterly dancers will be on full display in this mixed programme that will undoubtedly showcase the immense possibilities that ballet has to offer.”
The evening will feature the company premiere of Byrd Music by Canadian choreographer Kudelka. Rich in technical inventiveness and expressive musicality, the work will feature Kudelka’s signature mix of ingenious ballet partnering and lyrical interplay, set to the music of Vancouver composer Rodney Sherman.
Four dancers performing in pas-de-deux pairs, with each pair comprising one dancer manipulating the other in the guise of a puppet master. Vancouver dancer Jedidiah Dufuis, who performed in Byrd Music at its world premiere in 2011, will reprise his role
Hounsell, an award-winning choreographer and former dancer with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, will present a new work set to Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.
Orlando, a long-time Ballet BC principal dancer and Ballet Kelowna's artistic director and CEO, will showcase her new work, set to the music of Mozart.
The evening will conclude with the world premiere of Lee Dances, a performance of excerpts from three original works – Dedications, by Boston Ballet alumni Heather Myers, Winter Journey, by Orlando, and Creaturehood, by Hounsell – all of which received the prestigious Clifford E. Lee Choreography Award, established in 1978 by the Banff Centre to encourage new work by Canadian choreographers.
You can see Forward: A Mixed Repertory Programme by Ballet Kelowna at the Revelstoke Peforming Arts Centre on Wednesday, Apr. 1, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 and are available at the Visitor Information Centre, ArtFirst! and the Revelstoke Arts Council website